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No, but every time a top guy signs, that's the biggest contract at that position in team history because of inflation.

Troy Polamalu makes more than Donnie Shell and Carnell Lake ever made combined.

LaMarr Woodley makes more than Jack Ham and Greg Lloyd ever made combined.

Ike Taylor makes more than Mel Blount and Rod Woodson ever made combined.

Lawrence Timmons makes more than Jack Lambert and Levon Kirkland ever made combined.

Casey Hampton makes more than Joe Greene and Joel Steed ever made combined.

It's all driven by TV dollars and the negotiated players percentage of the total revenue take. There is just a bigger pool of money for the current players and when the mandatory minimum cap spending hits it will keep the players percentage consistently high.

That said just because some teams have spent "Franchise QB-like" salaries on WR this past off season does not mean we need to repeat the same mistake. WRs are not hard to replace and given that all these speed guys are one injury away from losing their greatest asset, and in Wallace's case his only elite asset, I would not spend more than $8M for a WR. Lock up Brown and Sanders now while you can get them on the cheap. Consider trading Wallace if he won't come in at the clubs desired price and get a draft pick. There will be lots of good WRs available next year. Too many fans fall in love with announcers talking about "fastest man in the NFL" on gameday and don't see that Wallace isn't the complete package.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

It's all driven by TV dollars and the negotiated players percentage of the total revenue take. There is just a bigger pool of money for the current players and when the mandatory minimum cap spending hits it will keep the players percentage consistently high.

That said just because some teams have spent "Franchise QB-like" salaries on WR this past off season does not mean we need to repeat the same mistake. WRs are not hard to replace and given that all these speed guys are one injury away from losing their greatest asset, and in Wallace's case his only elite asset, I would not spend more than $8M for a WR. Lock up Brown and Sanders now while you can get them on the cheap. Consider trading Wallace if he won't come in at the clubs desired price and get a draft pick. There will be lots of good WRs available next year. Too many fans fall in love with announcers talking about "fastest man in the NFL" on gameday and don't see that Wallace isn't the complete package.

The overall slice of pie is determined by the TV revenue and the players take, but the whole thing is driven by greed and ego. The "market value" is constantly pushed upward because one player can't stand that someone else at his position is making more. If they settle for less or continue to play for less than top dollar, then many players feel like they are embracing inferiority. If it's not them making the demands, then it's their agents...who obviously enjoy the same inflation of player contracts. Never mind if a contract offer is fair or if a player happens to find himself in the perfect system or perfect town for their family. Too many players and agents put all of their chips on the value of their contract compared to others. How else would the pot ever grow? [sarcasm].

I'm sure there are a few on this forum who support that type of mentality under the guise of "getting their money while they can". Some on here even advocate Wallace holding out of camp or until week 10 of the regular season, if the team isn't willing to give him what he thinks he's worth (as compared to Larry Fitzgerald). Can't say I'm in that camp.

I would no doubt rather have Wallace on this team than not. I don't have a problem with his hands and I believe the value of his speed to this offense is significant. That said, I don't believe he's on par with the likes of Fitzgerald, Megatron, A. Johnson, or a few other receivers who can consistently dominate the coverage. The team should offer him a fair contract and if Wallace refuses to sign it, then he should except the $2.8 M tender and use 2012 to prove that he deserves to be ranked with those other guys.

We've all been comparing Wallace to other receivers (makes sense, right?).

The number's being passed around:

Larry Fitzgerald: 8 years, $128 million ($50 million guaranteed)
Vincent Jackson: 5 years, $55,555,555*** ($26 million guaranteed)
DeSean Jackson: 5 years, $47 million ($15 million guaranteed)
Marques Colston: 5 years, $36.3 million ($17.7 million guaranteed)

***Notice that the total value of VJax's contract is ocho cincos.

People have been saying that we have never paid such big dollars to a receiver.

Well, instead of comparing Wallace to other receivers around the league, let's compare him to other Steelers who signed extensions within the last year.

LaMarr Woodley: 6 years, $61.5 million ($22.5 million guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus)
Troy Polamalu: 4 years, $36.5 million ($10.55 million signing bonus)
Lawrence Timmons: 6 years, $50 million ($11 million signing bonus)
Ike Taylor: 4 years, $28 million ($7.25 million signing bonus)

In terms of overall importance to the team, where does a top-notch deep threat entering the prime of his NFL career rank in terms of overall importance to the team when compared to the two linebackers entering the primes of their careers or the two members of the secondary who are now over the age of 30?

I know many will hold firm to their notion that "anything over $8 million and we should send him packing," but if you compare him to other Steelers who got extensions recently, doesn't it seem like Wallace should be slotted somewhere between Timmons and Polamalu in the middle of those 4 contracts?

I suggested a while back that Mike Wallace's contract could end up looking like Sidney Crosby's last contract (which he should be extending next week for 10 more years). Sid's last deal was for 5 years, $43.5 million ($8.7 million per year). That is essentially right smack dab in between the Timmons and Polamalu deals.

The sticking point could be the amount of the signing bonus, which if we followed precedent from last year would be in the neighborhood of $11 million or so. That would give us a yearly cap hit of $2.2 worth of signing bonus...if we gave him a veteran minimum salary ($750,000) in year one, his overall cap hit would be $2.95 million for this season, which would fit under the cap as currently constituted (see the other thread which shows our current cap space as $3.58 million). If Wallace's contract was structured as such, that would leave us with $630,000 after a Wallace 5 year, $43.5 dollar extension with an $11 million signing bonus (which would be the second fewest in the league, but still a shade more than Baltimore's $606,000 of available cap space as we speak).

If we wanted to sign Max Starks if his rehab progresses as we move through camp and the preseason, then we'd have to cut Jon Scott in order to make room (but we knew that already...if we had a healthy Max, there would be no need for Jon Scott anyway).

We've all been comparing Wallace to other receivers (makes sense, right?).

The number's being passed around:

Larry Fitzgerald: 8 years, $128 million ($50 million guaranteed)
Vincent Jackson: 5 years, $55,555,555*** ($26 million guaranteed)
DeSean Jackson: 5 years, $47 million ($15 million guaranteed)
Marques Colston: 5 years, $36.3 million ($17.7 million guaranteed)

***Notice that the total value of VJax's contract is ocho cincos.

People have been saying that we have never paid such big dollars to a receiver.

Well, instead of comparing Wallace to other receivers around the league, let's compare him to other Steelers who signed extensions within the last year.

LaMarr Woodley: 6 years, $61.5 million ($22.5 million guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus)
Troy Polamalu: 4 years, $36.5 million ($10.55 million signing bonus)
Lawrence Timmons: 6 years, $50 million ($11 million signing bonus)
Ike Taylor: 4 years, $28 million ($7.25 million signing bonus)

In terms of overall importance to the team, where does a top-notch deep threat entering the prime of his NFL career rank in terms of overall importance to the team when compared to the two linebackers entering the primes of their careers or the two members of the secondary who are now over the age of 30?

I know many will hold firm to their notion that "anything over $8 million and we should send him packing," but if you compare him to other Steelers who got extensions recently, doesn't it seem like Wallace should be slotted somewhere between Timmons and Polamalu in the middle of those 4 contracts?

I suggested a while back that Mike Wallace's contract could end up looking like Sidney Crosby's last contract (which he should be extending next week for 10 more years). Sid's last deal was for 5 years, $43.5 million ($8.7 million per year). That is essentially right smack dab in between the Timmons and Polamalu deals.

The sticking point could be the amount of the signing bonus, which if we followed precedent from last year would be in the neighborhood of $11 million or so. That would give us a yearly cap hit of $2.2 worth of signing bonus...if we gave him a veteran minimum salary ($750,000) in year one, his overall cap hit would be $2.95 million for this season, which would fit under the cap as currently constituted (see the other thread which shows our current cap space as $3.58 million). If Wallace's contract was structured as such, that would leave us with $630,000 after a Wallace 5 year, $43.5 dollar extension with an $11 million signing bonus (which would be the second fewest in the league, but still a shade more than Baltimore's $606,000 of available cap space as we speak).

If we wanted to sign Max Starks if his rehab progresses as we move through camp and the preseason, then we'd have to cut Jon Scott in order to make room (but we knew that already...if we had a healthy Max, there would be no need for Jon Scott anyway).

I believe that Wallace's 1st round RFA tender already counts against the Steelers' salary cap...I think that the $3.58 mil is in addition to that...

While Wallace hasn't signed the tender, the Steelers offered it, so they have to count it, IIRC...

I believe that Wallace's 1st round RFA tender already counts against the Steelers' salary cap...I think that the $3.58 mil is in addition to that...

While Wallace hasn't signed the tender, the Steelers offered it, so they have to count it, IIRC...

You may be right...even though he hasn't officially signed it yet, the $2.7 million RFA tender may already be figured into that cap figure...even better!!! Good call...

In that case, if his cap hit is already counted as $2.7 million right now, and I figured that his 2012 cap hit could potentially be $2.95 million after my proposed extension, that means that the only additional cap hit would potentially be a quarter million (leaving us with $3.33 million to play with). Wanna extend Antonio Brown's contract now too?